The Wider Wasteland

There is a spike in the number of Feral Ghouls, and various figures have offered a reward for their heads, or in one case, a 'live sample'.

Joshua Graham, who in this universe, had remained the Malpais Legate, was offering good caps and purified water for each Ghoul head, as well as the good graces of the Legion. Surprsingly even for this relatively less sexist alternate Legion, female adventurers were offered the job as well.

NCR Commander Boone, whose wife and child were still alive in this universe, had issued a similar offer, basically Ghoul heads for caps, purified water, and of course, a favor from the NCR in the future.

And finally, Jason Bright of the Bright Brotherhood had sent a message to the effect that those who captured a live ghoul for him would receive...his or her weight in Energy Cells! This would be useful for those who used Energy Weapons and them alone, though...

Paradise 'Par' Rapids

Paradise 'Par' Rapids was looking for a thief. Not because anything of his' was stolen or because he felt the need to punish someone for something, but because he needed a thief's services. Why? Because he'd been chasing rumors of his company, the Crimson Caravan, doing unsavory stuff that might get the head brought down by the NCR higher-ups should word get back to them. Said rumors, if true, might bring him up the ranks again, which in turn, would help him steer the Crimsons down the 'right' path once more.

So, he had used his contacts among the Kings to search for someone who might help him, someone who knew how to be discreet, not excessively bloody, and finally, knew the meaning of consistency; not loyalty, but consistency.

And so he would wait, wait for anyone who wanted to take up his offer...

Nipton

In Nipton, the local mayor had handed over several NCR Soldiers and Powder Gangers who had been 'amusing' themselves there to the Legion, who, although incensed at this 'dirty treachery', would actually keep up their end of the bargain, and pay off the mayor for his services. Now, the Powder Gangers would be crucified to sate the Legion 'Frumentarii's' leader, one Vulpes Inculta, while the NCR soldiers would be held for ransom, to be executed, enslaved, or turned to coloni only if the NCR commanders refused to pay good purified water.

As rumors of this dirty deal spread, a trio of NCR and Pro-NCR adventurers (Obadiah, Tatsuya, and Jake) would wake up in a small room at the bottom of an abandoned shed in the NCR Sharecropper Farms, with their weapons and equipment in neatly organized rows before them. From a corner, a holotape would play, showing a tall, thin, somewhat pale man who wore a formal suit and shades that hid his eyes.

"Greetings," spoke the hologram, "my name is Caleb, and I have a job for you from the higher levels of the NCR." A pause. "As you have heard rumors about, the town of Nipton has handed over several NCR soldiers to Cesar's Legion, and gained a rich reward from the local legion commander. This act of rank treachery cannot stand." The hologram would turn around to another corner, where a large box of caps and purified water lay.

"Therefore, we are giving a blanket mission; take revenge. You are given complete freedom to define revenge or justice the way you see fit; we aren't weaklings like Chief Hanlon. Just make sure that someone pays for the lives of the NCR soldiers who have been lost today."

An irony that, in this other universe, Nipton still stands, and it is the NCR that has become its enemy...

@Pirouette@DepressedSoviet@Grec@dereken@BladeSS4@Lauder@NecroKnight

Tatsuya's vision went from blurry to clear as he saw a ghoul and a sexy looking tribal woman in a small, dirty shack. Tatsuya, acting like his namesake, the Dragon, took a deep breath, focused his mind and calmly picked up his weapons and his share of the caps.

"I'm gonna need some new hardware if we're gonna take on these Legion fucks. I'll be back in a bit." Tatsuya exited the shack and took a stroll to the Gun Runners to the north. He bought a minigun and a large sum of ammo. He strolled back to the shack and opened the door.

"As much as I hate working for the NCR, I'd hate to refuse these caps and I'd hate to be on the NCRs bad side. You think this gun is big enough for the job?" Tatsuya said, presenting his minigun to his new associates.

"Let's head to the rest stop to the south, then Novac. I've always wanted to kill some Legionnaires."

Nipton

Numerius sat in office of the Nipton town hall. His helmet sat on the desk as he read over some Legion reports of the area. Vulpes Inculta was a very busy man, and as he shifted like a shadow across the Mojave he needed someone to run things back in Nipton. While this definitely wasn't the most exciting assignment Numerius ever had, it was a good opportunity to get promoted to a higher clearance of Centurion. Inculta was a very influential man in the legion and on word of recommendation from him could boost Numerius to the rank of Veteran Centurion. The office in which he sat was musty at best, but it showed obvious signs of the former mayor's creature comforts. A Legion flag has been placed on the back wall over a storage room door. The NCR prisoners were up to the Centurion's mercy if NCR leadership refused to pay the ransom. Vulpes Inculta was counting on Numerius and the legionnaire would be damned if he failed this simple mission. A sharp rap came at his door and gave a quick "Come in."

A legionnaire with a helmet of many feathers stepped through the doors, a Decanus. He placed a fist over his heart and stated "Ave Caesar, Centurion." Numerius returned the salute saying "Ave Caesar, Decanus Publius. What is it?" The Decanus let his hand fall and placed both of his hands behind his back. "The men are now on their patrols around the settlement. I have a contubernia guarding the NCR prisoners."

Numerius nodded and folded up the papers he was viewing. "Good, if they give the men any trouble be firm and quick in the punishment. Any sign of weakness those dogs will jump at. I'd rather none of the men be killed by a desperate prisoner. I expect we'll only have them for a week before we are rid of them. I doubt the NCR would allow their men to suffer the same fate as criminals." The centurion paused for a moment. "Post scouts on the edges of town, on the hillsides so we can see if there is anyone approaching from the roads or countrysides."

"Yes, sir."

"That will be all."

Publius placed a fist over his heart and turned on his heel, exiting the room.

Malpais Legate' camp

Jessica Fairbright sighed, as she went through the initial process of getting access to the Malpais Legate' camp. Namely it was a small camp adjacent to the larger Fort. A place, where many Wastelander and NCR member would tell, what a horrible and violent places it was - where slaves roamed and the law of morality or decency didn't exist. Usually in such cases, the speaker is either too drunk, too stupid or just too hypocritical.

The Legion wasn't end-all, be-all civilization of the new world - but it was atleast not trying to kill you, out of some strange context. They did have their tribals, whom thought Caesar could walk on water or the sun in the sky was some God called Mars. But there were other people there as well, some men of intelligence or culture - that one might expect to only find in the NCR. The Malpais Legate seemed one such individual - he seemed well-cultured and always had some philosophy to pass on. Plus he was one of the toughest SOBs she had seen - the man didn't look build or trained for war; judging by his background as a simple Preacher. Yet one the occasions she had heard the stories, or seen some of the scars - the man had been able to survive a dozen ambushes and NCR Snipers whom had failed to kill him on multiple occasions. Despite them often managing to hit him, and yet the Legate would not die.

She was brought out of her thoughts, when she was padded down - the Legion had a no-weapon policy, whenever some outsider entered their camp. It was mainly in the name of security, otherwise anybody could come and kill them all. Despite being left weaponless, there wasn't any direct threat of getting jumped at a Legion camp. Sure slavery did exist, but it was on an individual basis - plus most of the Legionnaires were told to not to engage in such activities...atleast on possible contractors. It the Legion' form of hazing any newcomers, plus if you were dumb enough to fold in, then you wouldn't be upto the kind of work the Legion would offer anyway.

Jessica calmly waited, as they 'took' their time, feeling of her body for anything. It was the standard, whenever she visited - being a woman, they liked to take their time - but on the other hand she was a former Ranger after all. With an 'accidental' slap on her behind, she was allowed to continue towards the Malpais Legate' tent - namely on the subject on this ghoul problem and where in particular. On the way there, she got into the usual business of getting catcalled and commented on her figure - mostly by the younger members, but a few veterans also threw in their voice. The usual: 'hey, beautiful', 'want me to relief you, of that heavy suit', 'nice legs you got', 'want to try out my sword' and more carnal comments added to that.

Nobody was dumb enough to try to grab her - namely cause the Malpais was one of the few more pragmatic leaders the Legion had, and namely slaving any potential or possibly experienced contractor was bad for the Legion. Since often than thought - they needed such people to perform special missions. Secondly, being a 'Fallen' Ranger she knew her stuff - when it came to self-defense. The first time and first Legionnaire found that out - when he assumed she was a weak maiden and he was promptly handed his ass and had been temporarily paralyzed by her from the waist down. The filed down and burned scorch mark on her shoulder - which would've once displayed the NCR' emblem of the bear was gone. Now she was known as the 'Fallen Ranger' by many NCR civilizans or soldiers - the Legion had a more ironic nickname for her, namely 'Virgo' or literally 'Maiden'.

Obadiah
Obadiah came to, on the cold ground of some near-empty cabin. It was odd, she did not recall hitting her head, nor drinking a great deal, nor even starting a fight, and yet there she was, coming to in some strange place, on the ground, with strangers. She shrugged off the strange circumstances of her awakening, and immediately went to pick up her greatclub, as well as a couple tomohawks she kept on hand. As she regained her bearings, Obadiah remembered she wasn't alone in the dingy shack, but she shared it with a couple others.

To her right was one of the deadmen. Ghouls, as they were called. He was one of the NCR tribe, clearly wearing a uniform of their warriors. For a deadman, he seemed to be strong. The other was a human, big, and built like a yao-gui. Obadiah supposed there was worse company to keep. She was about to speak up, when a tinny sounding voice from an empty corner startled her. She turned, and saw a small translucent man hovering over the ground. Obadiah sighed, she should have known, technology. Still, she listened in on the tiny man.

It was a job offer, and not just any offer, one that was paying her to take revenge on Legion tribe and those that collaborate with them. "This sounds like a good job." She nodded, scooping up some of the caps, though not paying attention to the amount. Enough for food and drink for a few days. She also took her share of water, which she more carefully counted out, making sure she got what she needed, without drawing the ire of the others. The large man too, had taken caps, and near immediately left the shack, talking about looking for more hardware. Obadiah didn't even say goodbye.

She instead looked to the deadman. "Hi. Do you remember how we got here?" She laughed, nervously, as Obadiah was still a little put off by the zombie-like creatures.

When Jake awoke, he was immediately put off by the surrounding area being different from the one he had fallen asleep in. He patted himself down to make sure everything was still there, including his gear, before getting up. Once he was standing, he pulled a cigarette and a match from one of the pouches on his uniform, striking the match across his armor, and lighting the cigarette. He took a deep puff, exhaling just as the hologram flickered to life and began to speak.

"Greetings. My name is Caleb, and I have a job for you from the higher levels of the NCR." Great, a job from either those stuck-up government suits, or those spooks in the Secret Service... "As you have heard rumors about, the town of Nipton has handed over several NCR soldiers to Cesar's Legion, and gained a rich reward from the local legion commander. This act of rank treachery cannot stand." The hologram turned, gesturing to a stack of water and caps, enough to be split three ways. "Therefore, we are giving a blanket mission; take revenge. You are given complete freedom to define revenge or justice the way you see fit; we aren't weaklings like Chief Hanlon. Just make sure that someone pays for the lives of the NCR soldiers who have been lost today."

After the hologram ended, one of the other two people in the room, the other male, and a normal human, took his share of the caps and water. He mentioned something about acquiring more gear, and rushed out the door.

The other person, a human woman, and obviously a tribal of some sort, mentioned the job seeming to be a good one. She also asked him if he remembered how they got there.

The ghoul replied between puffs of his cigarette, his raspy voice sounding almost like a snarl. "Beats me, smoothskin. I'm just as out of the loop as you are. Hopefully we can figure things out after we get back." With that said, he scooped up his hunting rifle from where it lay nearby, making sure it was okay, before slinging it over his back, and checking his pistol as well.

Just then, the man who had left came back in, now armed with a large minigun. He asked what Jake and the woman thought of the weapon. "Well, that's one way to stick it to the Legion." He said, tossing his cigarette to the floor and smothering it with his foot. The man spoke about a plan for getting to Nipton, and Jake held up a hand. "Hold up there, smoothskin. Let's hear what the lady thinks before he settle on a definite plan."

NCR offers always tended to be rather tempting when it came to jobs that they did not have the time or want to do. Caps and purified water, those were the bare necessities of the harsh lands of the Mojave and it was damned well tempting to Austin Woods, local ghoul mercenary. There he was, the old Texan walking up to the NCR base just south of the New Vegas Strip, shotgun in hand and a regular indifferent look on his face. The rewards were certainly seeming to be well worth it for Austin, especially since it would bring more wealth to him. The thought brought some happiness to him.

Of course, there would be competition, but that did not concern the pre-war relic in the slightest due to his nature. The same nonchalant nature he used to ignore the people as they harassed him for being a ghoul, it was just routine at this point. Austin looked at the guards of the entrance and silently measured their movements. A corroded finger circled the edge of his trigger, before stopping. The two guards looked at each other, back to the ghoul, then back to each other once more, contemplating on whether to send the ghoul away or not.

“I’m here for the offer that Commander Boone has sent out,” Austin stated in a raspy voice, the guards looking at each other again before reluctantly allowing him in. The ghoul tipped his hat to the two before walking into the base, no emotion truly surfacing on his face. Upon stepping into the base, an officer already started harassing him for being a ghoul. Perhaps he should have shown some sort of anger, but he could not muster up the want to. “Listen, sir, I am here on business. If you want to harass me then do it some other time,” he sighed, walking past the officer who continued to call him a ‘zombie’. So much for acceptance and such from the NCR.

The texan approached another officer, asking “Where might I find Commander Boone?” The officer proceeded to point to the large building within the fort. “Mighty kind of you, sir,” Austin commented before making his way towards that building. Though, he felt watched - snipers were up in the watchtowers, looking at him - it still did not unnerve him in the slightest. Despite being watched, guards stopped the ghoul and proceeded to confiscate his weapon and pat him down. Again, it did not mean much to him. Eventually, they allowed the ghoul into the building and pointed him to the way to Commander Boone, where he gladly went.

Obadiah winced as the deadman spoke to her. She didn't mean to, but the rasping voice unnerved her. Still, she nodded in understanding. "Yes, we do the job first, then we..." Obadiah wasn't sure what to do once the job was finished. Luckily, she didn't have to finish her sentence, as the other human burst back into the room, wielding a huge gun. Obadiah wasn't sure why he needed such an overbearing weapon, but she was not one to judge another's war-making. "It is a big weapon. Loud too." She shrugged.

The man suggested a simple plan, head to Nipton through a rest stop, and straight through to Nipton. The ghoul, however, responded, seeking Obadiah's opinion on the matter. She cocked her head, thinking on it a moment. "If we follow the road, we will be seen by Legion. At least, when we're near Legion territory." She looked at the minigun in the man's hands. "But maybe that's no problem for you." Obadiah thought a moment. "Perhaps, if one or two of us attracted the attention of the Legion warriors, another could sneak about, to strike at the nest." It seemed like a good plan to her. It worked when the tribe went hunting for crawlers and buzzers.

"Hmm, either way, it will be a long walk. Need food, water, all that. Will be easier if we go together!" Obadiah smiled, ready to set out. "Oh, and I am Obadiah, warrior of Mal'okai! I am glad to meet enemies of the legion tribe."

Tatsuya heard the plan to avoid the main roads. To him, it sounded like a better idea than what he had planned. Tatsuya wasn't the most intelligent person in the world and he always was pretty blunt, but he always took into consideration all options before acting and this plan was sound.

"Ok so we avoid the main roads, that I can agree with. We sneak through the canyons and I'll sneak into their nest with my new toy. Then bam. Hahahaha" Tatsuya laughed sinisterly and he composed himself.

"My name is Tatsuya, or you can call me Tatsu. I was born as a slave in the Legion, I fought for my freedom and came to the Mojave. I don't know what happened to the caravan I was working for, maybe they sold me out and that's how I got here. Maybe the same happened to you two. Now I don't know about you all but I'm growing restless for bloodshed." Tatsuya said as he spinned the barrel on his minigun.

"I'm strong enough to carry this thing and sneak into their nest at the same time. So this trip won't be too tough for me. By the way, what's your name, Ghoul?" Tatsu said to Jake.

Nipton

Numerius leaned back in his seat, his eyes closing. He thought of home, of his wife and children. Those three were a handful, but he wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. His thoughts strayed to his family before the legion, of the carnage that had befallen his beloved home town. Numerius hoped they were resting easy with Mars now. A sharp knocking came at the office door, bringing Numerius startlingly back to the present. The officer sat up straight and said in a powerful voice "Come in."

A legionnaire opened the door and for a brief moment Numerius couldn't identify him. But then he realized, this must be one of Vulpes Inculta's shadow operatives. "Ave Caesar, Centurion. Orders from top brass." The operative handed Numerius a letter, placing a fist over his heart and vanishing into the doorway. Numerius regarded the letter for a moment before opening it, quickly reading it. Numerius sighed as he put the letter down, he was hoping to stay in the luxury town hall of Nipton for a while longer, but alas it was not to be. Numerius grabbed his helmet and slid it onto his head. "Legionnaire!" he barked. A young guard who had been standing out in the hall stumbled in and saluted Numerius. "Get me Decanus Publius immediately."

******

100 Legionnaires march from Nipton, 25 Elites surround the 24 NCR prisoners in a 360 formation. Numerius leads the elites as the more senior decani lead the march. Going over the orders in his brain, Numerius figured they would go along the road and break off into wilderness just before Novac, they would cut across the highways into more wilderness and navigate until they made it to Nelson. The whole trip, with this many men hopefully would take no more than a day and a half at most. The centurion pulled his power fist on and readjusted the sword that hung from his hip. With this many men, any NCR opposition shouldn't pose much of a threat. Especially with the prisoners in tow. Numerius was nervous about the skeleton crew he left at Nipton, but orders were orders. Decanus Publius was a competent leader, he should be able to keep things under control.

@Grec@Delta 38@dereken@Lauder@DepressedSoviet@NecroKnight@Double

Ghoul Hunting Near Novac

Jean Khan found herself in the wilds near the town of Novac, normally unsafe for her due to the presence of NCR Commander Boone (who then again was busy taking care of his wife and son). The parched, light-brown earth was cracked and pitted, with only some patches of greenery breaking the monotony. What shade was there was provided by rusted and ruined pre-war gas stations and farmhouses from an earlier time, places that carried as much risk as they did safety...particularly as there was a rising threat of Feral Ghouls, Ghouls that were being hunted down by the other factions. Perhaps she can amuse herself by watching them?

------

Virgo had been sent to the wilds near Novac as well by the Malpais Legate, who had signed a contract with her promising payment in return for ghoul heads, as well as discreetly giving her a Pre-War artifact; an old polaroid camera.

"If you see anything that is valuable to the Legion, knowledge-wise, take pictures with this. I trust that you know how to use a camera?" And with that, he would send her off on her way, a confident smile on his face.

And now, the Fallen Ranger/Madien was engaging a trio of Feral Ghouls, not noticing, for now, the young Khans woman some distance away behind an outcropping...

------

Austin Woods would have a brief meeting with Commander Boone, who, after some inquiry as to the Ghoul mercenary's skills, would send him off, as well as give him a downpayment of caps and purified water. The two would then sign their own contract, before Boone would continue:

"Also, once you are done hunting Ghouls, there is a job near Goodsprings I need you to do; apparently, the Powder Gangers are going to attack the town, and there have been sightings of one of Mr. House's agents, one Benny of the Tops, there. This bears investigating, if only because I will not let innocent suffer under those...gangsters."

The Ghoul Mercenary would then be sent off to the area with the most Ghoul sightings, within sight range of both Jean and Virgo...

Nipton

Nipton, under the audacity of the Mayor, had the temerity to celebrate the windfall that came from the Legion's paying the town for 'providing' it with prisoners. Coloured paper streamers hung from the windows, the old US Flag was waving from the town square's flagpole, and on said town square, there was a buffet, mostly composed of gecko meat and yucca fruit, as well as potatoes. However, it seems that the Legion presence in the town was slight, a skeleton force that was most probably bait.

And of course, an obvious fact is that the NCR Prisoners seemed to be gone, gone like the wind, and that tracks leading outside show that a large Legion convoy, most of the original forces, had departed the settlement.

This left a few choices for the ad-hoc group assembled to take revenge on The Legion/Nipton...

Paradise 'Par' Rapids

Finally, a thief* had come to the merchant, asking for a job. Said job was, of course, to foil the Crimson Caravan and Van Graff's attempts at destroying their competitors by collecting evidence against them from their leaders' very safes. And if Par ended up being well-placed to take control of the Caravan's New Vegas branch after this scandal, well, let's just say that again, he wanted to bring the company back to its roots, its honourable roots.

What he didn't know, because of his average perception, was that he was being made the pawn of forces much greater than he was...

*NPC

@Letter Bee@Double

Jessica, after the quick talk and communication that had been exchanged - soon headed over to her location near Novac. It was a death-sentence for any Legionnaire within a two mile radius - namely cause the sniper the NCR had perched in the town, could easily catch any of them coming from any direction.

Her on the other hand, had an easier time going around the problem. As she wore her ranger armor and used a brown colored scarf to mask her mouth and nose from the dust and sand. As she started picking off the ghouls one by one, mostly dealing with headshots. No need or use to waste ammunition, trying to pull of other shots - as ghouls were already tough and skinny, on one end. So it was best to just get it over with them.

As anybody whom was watching Virgo - in action, they could see her, get corned by three ghouls at once. Only for the woman to pull three hips shots with relative ease, within three seconds and pull the three ghouls down easily. All of them shot through the head. "Easy," she groaned in reply, spinning her revolver on her finger - before holstering it and looking at her handiwork. Then at Novac...the Legion had asked to gather information, and getting hard-data on Novac, would provide her a good amount of caps and prestige.

@NecroKnight@Letter Bee

The small canyon road leading the old REPCONN site was probably the closest thing to feel like home for a certain woman hiding among its outcroppings. Of course, it was nothing compared to Red Rock Canyon, but it was preferable to the little town being overlooked by a giant plastic dinosaur at least. The Khan hid herself in this little outcropping to keep herself out of sight of a nearby NCR Ranger. The less Jean had to interact with NCR, the better overall. But the Ranger looked like she was heading right toward the test site. That would make things largely unpleasant. The test site was also Jean's destination. Supposedly, the rocket fuel could be distilled and converted into a reagent for stronger chem dosages. A "way more gnarly kick", as Jack and Diane put it. So naturally Sonny, in his infinite "wisdom" decided that an abandoned rocket facility deep in NCR-territory that also had hordes of Ghouls coming out of its ass was the perfect solo mission for Jean. It wasn't the first time Sonny had her sent far away, most of the time it was for supplies that could probably be found closer to Red Rock Canyon, with Sonny just looking for an excuse to get Jean out of his hair for a while.

"Thanks for the suicide mission, Sonny." Jean muttered to herself under her breath after she heard gunshots up ahead. Sounded like her little Ranger "friend" was drawing attention to herself. Any decent person would probably jump in to help, but Khans weren't exactly known for their chivalry. Instead, Jean turned around and found herself climbing up the rocky wall behind her. One didn't live their entire life in a place like Red Rock Canyon and not develop any rock climbing skill. As long as the Ranger was drawing attention, Jean could use the distraction to slip by, hopefully unnoticed.

"Shit!" Jean hissed to herself, almost aloud but managed to stifle it into a whisper. Her left foot slipped and she nearly lost her footing. Thankfully the Khan was able to catch herself before falling and instead pulled herself up to the top of the wall to safety, "Too close... note to self: remember to 'thank' Sonny when I get home." she didn't care if he was leader or not, she'd find some way to kick that bastard's ass for this. She could just picture him now, laughing it up in Papa's long house and privately hoping Jean'd get herself killed out here. Wouldn't that just be all too convenient for him?

"I wonder how my little Ranger is doing?" she whispered, Jean scanning the road below for the source of the gunshots. The Ranger wasn't hard to spot, her big brown trench coat didn't really do her any favors in terms of blending in. It looked like she just downed a trio of Ghouls with nothing but a sidearm. In fact... was she even carrying another weapon? What kind of Ranger didn't carry a Service Rifle? Or at the very least a Hunting Rifle or Winchester? Right about now Jean found herself in a position to make an interesting decision. Should she lend the Ranger a hand? If she did, the Ranger would be in her debt, and Jean could use that to make the Ranger help her get what she needed. An extra pair of eyes and hands could prove helpful. Or maybe she should use this commotion to slip by and stay hidden?

"Hmm... decisions, decisions."

@Double

The Ranger in question didn't seem to need much aid - as when the woman in question moved to reload her weapon and get attacked by a ghoul. The woman in question soon struck the ghoul in its sternum from a weird angle - making the ghoul tumble over without much effort.

As she soon reloaded her revolver and soon unleashed several headshots, making the skulls of the ghouls explode and shower the area in decayed brain matter and flesh. She was fast on her feet, and her aim and senses seemed to be more primed than most Rangers - the NCR had. She easily eliminated the ghouls close to her and the others - that started to appear from the sandy landscape.

Eventually it ended with thirty-six ghouls dead, and not a single scratch on the Ranger in question - all of them killed by headshots at that. Whomever the Ranger-girl was - she seemed to be very apt and very, very good with her revolver. If Jean decided to run, leave, approach or attack her - then she most likely would need to watch her right hand, that seemed to possess a literal enemy-scanner and hit anything with pin-point accuracy.

Tatsuya, Jake and Obadiah began their journey to Nipton. They took the back roads and canyons, there were a few Legionnaires and Raideres dotting the terrain. The trio took them out with stealth and silence. The journey took them till sundown but eventually they made it, they saw Nipton on the horizon from the canyon above. Tatsuya was ready to pounce on the Legionnaires with his massive .50 cal minigun, but Jake took a look at the city with his binoculars. Seeing that the town was mostly empty asides from a few Legionnaires, he informed Tatsuya.

"Damn, this place, the Legionnaires must have taken the NCR somewhere else. I'm going down there to see if there's anything we can find out." Tatsuya said. Tatsuya descended into the town and started sneaking around. He approached a Legionnaire and put him in a chokehold.

"Talk, or I slice you open and leave you for the carrions." Tatsuya said to him, holding his Mantis Gauntlet to his throat.

"Alright alright, follow the trail out of here and you'll find what you're looking for. But you won't rescue them. Hail Caesar!" The Legionnaire said. Tatsuya knocked him out with a swift blow to the head. He screamed out in pain and the rest of the Legionnaires heard the struggle. They came charging at Tatsuya, who couldn't draw out his minigun in time to fight the Legionnaires. He took out his revolver and got in a shootout with the Legionnaires, waiting for any potential backup.

Obadiah marched through the day with her newfound companions, the sun roaring overhead. She was accustomed to the heat. As they marched, she chattered and commiserated with her allies, telling tales of beast hunting, battle, and drink. She didn't know how Tatsu and the deadman took her stories, but she didn't particularly mind. They helped to pass the time on the long, dusty walk to Nipton. Eventually, as they grew closer to their quarry, Obadiah quieted, preparing for the hunt. Soon, the town was in sight, and she turned off the main road to sneak into the brush.

She observed the town a moment, having taking position, just behind the crest of a nearby hill. Something wasn't right, Nipton seemed near empty, with barely any Legion tribe warriors at all. Obadiah could not hide her disappointment as the prospect of anything more than a skirmish was washed away. Yet still, she readied her weapon, and started to make for the town from the north, hopefully away from any searching eyes. Tatsu had the same idea, sneaking in ahead of Obadiah.

The human had already taken a Legion warrior, first threatening, then striking him unconscious. This brought the attention of what remained of the Legion warriors, and they engaged, opening fire on Tatsuya. Obadiah lept from her hiding spot, in a shallow alley just up the street from Tatsu. She barreled for the Legionnaires, knocking the first off his feet with a shoulder lunge, before diving forward, and rolling to sweep her club into the second's legs, tossing him to the ground. She cried out in bloodlust, swinging the heavy club down upon the man's helmet thrice, crushing it, and the skull underneath.

Ghoul Hunting Near Novac

Then suddenly, rumbling can be heard over the horizon as sudden stormclouds appeared in the sky, moving too fast to be entirely natural. It then began raining, lowering visibility even with the very good eyes of the people hunting Ghouls. Then, a bolt of lightning would strike the rock Jean was observing from; the obvious decision would be for her to run down from the outcropping and risk being detected by the 'Ranger', in order to avoid being electrocuted and rained on. If she did so, however, both she and Jessica/Virgo would notice something glowing nearing them on the left; a Glowing One and several Feral Ghouls, encouraged by the rain!

Nipton

The townspeople decided to keep away from the skirmish, running back to their homes or whatever structures there were. Then, as the last of the Legionnaires were mowed down by Tatsuya and Obadiah, they and Jake would see...a tornado moving towards Nipton, causing the townspeople to panic! While the Mojave was no stranger to cyclones, the fact was that this one just appeared out of nowhere, implying that this wasn't natural...

------

Numerius would encounter a slight squall as he made his way back to the Legion's main territories, but nothing that would slow him down appreciatably. Then, a small band of Legion Frumentarii would be sighted, walking towards his position. They would tell Numerius, "The Brotherhood of Steel profilgates - they've attacked Cottonwood Cove; heavy rains have also flooded the place just a few hours before!"

Paradise 'Par' Rapids

The deal was signed, and the steps needed to discredit the current leadership of the Crimson Caravan were being taken. Hopefully, Par would be able to navigate this dangerous course. For now, however, he would rest, not knowing of events happening around him, events happening that would shape the Mojave Wasteland forever...

Remnants Bunker

Five people in power armor, dead, the only thing valuable about them being the Enclave technology they still carried. A smile from their killer; it didn't matter. They may have been genetically 'pure' individuals, but they were an obstacle to his plans, the New Enclave's plans. The person in Hellfire Power Armor looked around the small base, smiling as their men began to systemically salvage the tech inside, which included a Vertibird.

"To exploit, not to exterminate; that is what we learned from Chicago. Power is the only truth; purity can go hang," the warrior took off their helmet, and long red tresses flowed out, revealing a deceptively soft woman's face, with glinting green eyes that shone with bloodlust.

She faced her troops, saying, "the Old Enclave, in Navarro, the Capital Wasteland, and now Chicago have fallen due to their attempts to kill those who are not pure, not realizing that the ideals of the United States are what mattered, not what genes they carried. And the ideals of the United States are this: Freedom for those who are smart, who are strong, who are just better than others, no matter their race or sex. Do not take this for the so-called NCR's claptrap about 'civil rights' and 'dignity for all', no, freedom is only for those who earn it, for those who have merit!"

The people accompanying her gave a loud hurrah at that, even the ones busy salvaging the dead bodies of the so-called 'Enclave Remnants'. The woman smiled, before raising her gun, and shouting, "Freedom for the Strong!"

Big MT

Father Elijah masterminded the attacks of the Brotherhood of Steel on this 'New Legion', testing out the new 'Weather Machine' he and the Brotherhood had forced the so-called 'Think Tank' to build for him. At the same time, however, it seemed that his attempt to target Novac and NCR Commander Boone had missed, with the storm he had sent to the town ending up in the countryside outside it. Tsk, tsk, more things to refine for the next round...if he could silence the rumblings of dissent that were increasing, even with the success he had brought the Brotherhood.

@Grec@Delta 38@dereken@Lauder@DepressedSoviet@NecroKnight@Double

Obadiah had just finished off the last Legion warrior with a series of rib-shattering blows, when the wind picked up. All the better to carry their dead scent far, that all would know their destruction. She looked up from her quarry, blood-flecks painting her satisfied grin. "The Legion tribe are driven away. A pity, it was far too easy." Obadiah looked back down the street toward the center of town. "Now, we must deal with the cowards of Nipton." She had no love for those that would bow and scrape to the Legion, they were worse than the slaves who were forced to fight.

Starting down the street, toward the largest building in town, Obadiah began formulating a plan for what to do. First she would find Nipton's chief, and cripple him. She would kill any who opposed her, of course. The idea pleased Obadiah greatly. However, she was snapped out of her reverie when she saw on the horizon something far worse for the town than ever her wrath. A great cyclone, a storm of terrible omen. Even so far away, she could tell that the tornado would leave near nothing standing in the town.

Obadiah rushed back down the street to grab her companion. "Quickly! The storms shall strip our flesh if we do not find shelter!" She swept her eyes down the alley, spotting an old, rusted cellar door. "There!"

@dereken

Tatsuya busted the cellar door down and rushed into the dilapidated basement. Tatsuya grabbed a board and boarded the doors shut, he then went to Obadiah to see if she was alright.

"Dammit, we lost the ghoul in that storm." Tatsuya said. Tatsuya then thought of the tracks he would need to find the where the Legion had taken the NCR prisoners.

"Fuck, we're never gonna find them if the tornado gets rid of the tracks! Any idea where they might have gone?" Tatsuya asked Obadiah.

@Letter Bee

Jessia saw the rain happening around her and followed by the lightning at that. She decided not to stick around in his mud and rain, especially with ghouls around her or coming over to her at that.

While she disliked the idea, it looked like Virgo needed to go deep, very deep - into enemy territory. Namely as the woman in question, fired several shots at the approaching ghouls, namely blowing into their knee-caps or what remained of them. It wouldn't kill them, but would slow them down until Virgo could reach her destination. She pulled her jacket further up to cover her throat - as the woman in question soon broke out into a sprint.

She fired at any remaining ghouls that tried to stop her - making way towards the town of Novac. Keeping her camera closely ducked away and pocketing her red cloths at that - no need to give any likely trooper at the location any ideas. It was a good thing, that Jessica in question didn't leave any 'witnesses' or 'sights' of her exploits. Many amongst the NCR assuming that the 'Fallen Ranger' from various intelligence reports was in question a man at that. As she tied a blue scarf around her neck instead, that she had pulled from her pocket and also pulled white cloth with a bright red 'A' marked on it. Which she tied to her filed off spot of her arm - a disguise ready, and one she had used many times to her advantage.

As the woman in question, made her quickly towards Novac.